What do you call the clothing that you wear to bed? Do women wear nighties or nightgowns or pajamas? Men? pajamas? Are there other terms? What do you Brits call your pajamas or nightgowns?

Quote "...What do you Brits call your pajamas or nightgowns?..."

We call our pajamas, pyjamas.

skin

LOL @ Bob!

I call my huge tshirt a nightie or night shirt.

But, for your pleasure, I have a song about this! (of course)

To the Tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic:

I wear my pink pajamas in the Summer when it's hot
and I wear my woolen undies in the Winter when it's not
and sometimes in the Springtime and sometimes in the Fall
I go to bed with nothin' on at all!

Glory, glory what's it too ya?
Glory, glory what's it too ya?
Glory, glory what's it too ya?
I go to bed with NOTHIN ON AT ALL!

CW,
I'll have a hard time topping that one! But I wear a nightgown.. if it's warmish, and pajamas if it's coolish... and I always wear socks... summer or winter...

I say pa-jahm-mas... my NY friends say pa-jam-mas...

Just skin to sleep in.... never! How unprotected!!!

Quote "...Just skin to sleep in.... never! How unprotected!!! ..."

Is this a US thing, maybe? Although we in the UK have bedtime wear, in my experience it is reserved for hospital visits and, as I have already vouchsafed, films and soap operas.

In my childhood when heating was expensive, bedrooms were cold, and duvets (futons) were unknown there was some point in wearing nightwear. Indeed, I recall with absolutely no affection whatsoever, wrapping my feet in a woollen sweater to keep them warm. But now? I would probably evaporate, or at least melt, were I to wear pyjamas under my duvet in my well-heated bedroom.

It occurs to me that at this point, I'm learning fairly more about the personal habits of folks than I thought I would. I was at first going to protest, but the information has brought me joy, and therefore, I'm glad for it. Should I start a pole???

Now, Richard, you know very well why I asked this question, and you didn't cooperate, did you?

and duvets (futons)

Richard, do you define "duvet" and "futon" the same? I think of a duvet as a covering for a comforter (though I see that dictionary.com defines it also as a 'quilt').

Ahhh, Bob, I think a lot of American men sleep in their skin, too.

pyjamas...? Is it spelled that way? Or is that just how you pronounce it? Lots of people here say pj's, too.

Pyjamas is actually spelled that way here.

Quote "...Should I start a pole???..."

If you wish. We have nothing against Eastern Europeans here.

Maybe this is a British thing? Like Bob and Richard, I don't wear pyjamas normally, reserving them only for overnight stays at houses of friends and relations, and hospitals. A duvet is a quilt that is used as covering, without the need for top sheets and blankets. Instead of changing the sheets, just the duvet cover needs to be washed. A quilt or eiderdown would normally be placed on top of the sheets and blankets.

Maybe this is a British thing? Like Bob and Richard, I don't wear pyjamas normally, reserving them only for overnight stays at houses of friends and relations, and hospitals.

Of course, I don't know what the majority of men here wear when they go to bed , but I do think that is similar in the U.S.

Do they have bathrobes or robes in the UK?

Too bad we don't have CAT in England telling us what she wears to bed... perhaps the entire British Isles are naked under their duvets and we never knew..

A futon in the U.S. is a "fake bed"... I call them that! Sort of a sofa, which will unfold to a bed.. not something one would want to take permanent residence upon... used more as a guest bed.

My duvet covers my down comforter... and I still wear socks and pyjamas...

Lordy, I hope they have bathrobes in the UK... we'd all be seeing a lot more than we bargained for, if not..

Too bad we don't have CAT in England telling us what she wears to bed... perhaps the entire British Isles are naked under their duvets and we never knew..

I love that thought, KHC!

I have been meaning to write Bob and find out how Cat is. I know that she has been ill recently. Perhaps we can find out on the chat tomorrow.

I was wrong about futons. I had thought the word was a synonym for duvet in the USA (it's not used here) and I was simply trying to be helpful by providing a translation.

Duvets (continental quilts) are now very common in the UK and have largely replaced blankets and eiderdowns.

I, too, have had little first-hand experience of what most British ladies wear in bed but I do know, from the few times that the topic has been subject to mention, that most British men prefer to sleep in their birthday suits.

We don't have bathrobes in England - we have dressing gowns.

For me, a futon is a sort of matress which has no springs and is stuffed with cotton. Some are thin and others are thick. I've slept on a futon for years before I had one of those futon couches which convert into beds.

I wear whatever is necessary to bed, which in warmer weather is nothing. Into my earlier twenties I used to wear nightshirts. My grandmother used to make us (me, my father, and uncles) a new set each year: some of light cotton for summer time and the others of a heavier flannel for winter time. They were a bit old fashioned, even in my youth, but we didn't have central heating on the ranch, and they kept us warm.

We don't have bathrobes in England - we have dressing gowns.

Ah, that was the phrase I was looking for, Richard..."dressing gowns." Is it really commonly used? It sounds so, so...British! We don't use it here.

I probably use the term more often than I use the garment - and that is even more true of pyjamas!

My mother used to use a term for robes that I don't hear anymore, and that is "housecoat." I think I would get this response if I used that word in front of my kids:

Oh yes, I've heard "dressing gowns" fairly often, actually, but only by people who are trying to sound high brow. Housecoats are generally (in my association) those frumpy garments worn by women who don't have employment outside the home and don't do much around the home, either. OR, they're what sometimes passes for a dress for a woman in a lower income area.

In reading this again I realized it sounded a bit snooty. I guess when I think of housecoats I think of trailer parks, too. But I don't mean to imply that not doing anything all day and living in a trailer park makes you a bad person.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Caterwauller,

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Should I start a pole???

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I can see that if we all get together sometime, it's going to be a awful lot of fun!

How about night caps? How many years since anyone wore one of those...? "And Mama in her kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled down..."

Housecoats are generally (in my association) those frumpy garments worn by women who don't have employment outside the home and don't do much around the home, either. OR, they're what sometimes passes for a dress for a woman in a lower income area.

Oh, my poor mother! I am so glad she is not here to read this because she had a little bit of snootiness to her. Her mother's family was from England so she would use many English terms for our furniture (such as "sideboard"), words that were not used normally in Wisconsin. She loved to use French words, too, like "risqué" or "décolleté."

For the record, we did not live in a trailer park. And my mom never wore her "housecoats" for a dress. I have no idea why the "housecoat" term, though I imagine it is a regional use.

BTW, just as I said that I hadn't heard of "dressing gown," I came across it in a novel I was reading. The author is clearly American, and she lives in the south. I just have never come across it before.

Do you all call slippers the same thing? Are there other terms for those shoe-like things that are warmer and roomier and more comfy than shoes?

I call them "slippers," though my cousins used to call them "mukluks." Also, my grandfather used to have "slipper socks." My mom used to call them something like "seetsas," but I think she must have made up that name because I have never found it.

Slipper socks are socks that have soles stitched to them. I have some, as well as regular slippers, or house shoes. I've also heard some folks call slippers "Weejuns," but that's an old brand name for them.

They're called slippers over here, too.

I am now wondering "slipper" got its name. Is it related to a ladies "slip?"

I think 'housecoats' have button fastenings, but a robe has zipper or tie closures. Housecoats were usually worn in the summer/warmer weather. Housecoats were also more "presentable" if company dropped in...past tense...(since no one wears them anymore)!...and no one just drops in!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: amnow,

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I am now wondering "slipper" got its name. Is it related to a ladies "slip?"

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Only in that they both "slip" on and off with ease. No buckles or belts or laces, just the bare essentials (but hiding THE bare essentials!).

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Originally posted by KHC:
Too bad we don't have CAT in England telling us what she wears to bed... perhaps the entire British Isles are naked under their duvets and we never knew..

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Is it too late to tell you what I wear to bed...?

It's not too late! Do tell!

Come on, Cat, we're waiting...

If you're too shy to tell us then a photo would do

She's keeping us all in suspense!

She may fear that her revelation will create bedlam in our ranks!

As soon as she lets slip what the truth is.

This could be a comic strip.

But Cat might find that rather off-putting.

I wear those two-piece things: strappy vest on top, and on the bottom the type of shorts I'd never dare wear out in the street.

Well, what were you expecting?

Apparently most of the men in England go to bed in the buff. We were expecting the same from you, of course!

Well, what were you expecting?

Whatever it was...you sure had them all in suspense! I missed it all due to my *^%$#@&*(! computer.

Is your computer working again? Poor Kalleh!
Poor Shu!

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Originally posted by Caterwauller:
Apparently most of the men in England go to bed in the buff. We were expecting the same from you, of course!

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Well, sometimes it gets really hot in the summer, you know...

Cat - did you read the lyrics of the song I shared early in this thread? LOL

I guess it all depends on what you mean by "hot." According to this site, England is quite moderate, with the average temperature from June through August being 70°F.

I think it must be related to the man, rather than the weather!

My first visit to the UK was in the summer of 1976. The weather got into the upper 90s (mid 30s for you Celsius folks). Milk spoiled in stores. I saw businessmen in their shirtsleeves in London. The horror, the horror.

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Originally posted by jheem:
My first visit to the UK was in the summer of 1976. The weather got into the upper 90s (mid 30s for you Celsius folks). Milk spoiled in stores. I saw businessmen in their shirtsleeves in London. The horror, the horror.

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Only the MID-thirties? Since body temperature is 37C, I'd think it made it to the upper 30s.

1976 was a famously hot summer. Pretty well unbroken sunny days from June to early September. The government was so worried about the lack of rainfall that they appointed a Minister for Drought. Two days later the weather broke and so they made him Minister for Floods instead.

Drought/flood... It's a wash.